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Fraud and technology crime: Findings
This report presents the latest findings of the 2003/04 British Crime Survey (BCS) and the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS), on fraud and technology crime. The results provide alternative measures to police and administrative data on these crimes as they cover incidents that may not have been reported to the authorities. In addition, it provides more detailed information about fraud from data available from non-police sources and updates earlier published data.
Title: Fraud and technology crime: Findings from the 2003/04 British Crime Survey, the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey and administrative sources.
Authors: Debbie Wilson, Alison Patterson, Gemma Powell & Rachelle Hembury
Series: Home Office Online Report 09/06
Date published: April 2006
Number of pages: 26
Availability: Download full report 
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Key findings from the 2003/04 British Crime Survey and the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey
Fraud
Victims reported the same level of credit and debit card fraud in BCS 2003/04 as in 2002/03 and the same overall level of card fraud worry. However, the level of worry for those who had used their cards to buy goods over the Internet had declined slightly from 55% in 2002/03 to 52% in 2003/04.
The percentage of card users who had been an actual victim of credit or debit card fraud was low and stable between the 2002/03 and 2003/04 BCS (4% and 3% respectively, the difference not statistically significant).
From the 2004 OCJS, 1% of 12- to 25-year-olds reported using someone else's card or card details without the owner's permission in the last 12 months. The level of card fraud by offenders aged 18 to 25 years remained broadly stable (2% in 2003 and 1% in 2004, not a statistically significant change).
The 2004 OCJS found that among eligible 18- to 25-year-olds, claiming falsified work expenses and committing insurance fraud was relatively common, by 16% and 10% respectively. Benefit fraud and income tax evasion were less common (each at 2%).
Technology crimes
Based on BCS 2003/04, just over a quarter (27%) of BCS households where the respondent used the Internet at home reported that their home computer had been affected by a computer virus in the last 12 months. This is a significant increase since 2002/03 (18%). However, only 2% said they thought someone had accessed or hacked into files on their home computer and the level has remained stable since the 2002/03 BCS (also 2%).
Levels of sending computer viruses and computer hacking remained stable between the 2003 and 2004 OCJS, at one% of all 10- to 25-year-olds.
Illegal downloading of software, music or films was the most common offence committed among 10- to 25-year-olds; around a quarter of Internet users in this age group reported having done so in the previous year.
The majority of fraud and technology offenders had not committed any 'core' offences in the last 12 months. Around a quarter of fraud and technology offenders had committed either a serious or frequent offence (or both) in the last 12 months.
Fraud offenders (aged 18 to 25 years) were more likely than the average (for those aged 18 to 25 years) to have committed a 'core' offence and to be frequent and serious offenders. Technology offenders (aged 10 to 25 years) were more likely than the average to have committed a 'core' offence, and more likely to be a frequent and/or a serious offender.
Key findings from administrative sources on fraud
HM Customs and Excise estimates a reduction in revenue losses from between £6.5 billion and £7.4 billion in 2001/02 to between £4.8 billion and £5.4 billion in 2003/4.
APACS figures for annual plastic card fraud losses on UK-issued cards show an overall upward trend over the past decade with losses increasing from £83.3 million in 1995 to £504.8 million in 2004. More recently, the introduction of chip and PIN appears to be resulting in a fall in total card losses and this downward trend is expected to continue.
Reports from the NHS counter-fraud service indicate that overall patient fraud has reduced by more than half (54%) from £170.6 million in 1998-9 to £87.2 million in 2003/4.
Improvements to protective measures to reduce fraud and improvements to fraud measurement systems have enabled the DWP to produce an estimate, of overall losses of £0.9 billion for 2004/5 compared with £1.4 billion for 2003/4.
The proportion of fraud defendants found guilty at magistrates' courts has increased from 73% in 2002 and in 2003 to 77% in 2004, whilst the number proceeded against fell slightly.
The volume of major fraud cases (each of value over £100,000) reaching court and resulting in conviction has shown an upward trend during 2002 to 2004 (36 cases in the first six months of 2002 and 96 cases in the last half of 2004).
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Last update: Thursday, October 26, 2006